Vacuum cleaner



Feb! 4, 1.941. H. T. LANG ETA'. 2,230,122'

VACUUM CLEANER Filed April 28, 1936 lll lnventor`5: Henry T. Lang, Ralph E. Dunbar:

Patented Feb. 4,1941

UNITED STATES' vaccmr'cmmna um r. Lang, cleveland, and Ralph n. Dunbar, East Cleveland, Ohio, signora to Electric Vacuum Cleaner Company, inc.; Clevelan Ghia, a corporation of New York AApplication April 28, 1931i,v Serial No. 75,782 zclaims. (ci. 15-13) The present invention relates to vacuum'cleaners of the type in which the door covering vor other material being cleaned is drawn toward a suction nozzle by a current of air passing through the nozzle and. subjected to a heating or sweepin the suction nozzle.

The object of our invention is to provide an improved agitating element for use in the suction l0 nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and for a' consideration o1, what we believe to be novel and our invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description'and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a front is elevation, partly in section, of a vacuum cleaner einbodying our invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken through the suction nozzle at the center at right angles to the length of the suction nozzle; Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the con- 2@ struction for supporting the agitating element; U and Fig. 4 is a view of'a modiication of the agitating element.

Referring to the drawing, we have shown our.

invention in connection with a vacuum cleaner 25 having an "outer casing i which is provided with a suction nozzle 2 and a discharge conduit 3. A suitable bag t for receiving dirt is attached to the discharge conduit. A motor driven fan within thecasing creates a suction at the nozzle which 3o draws dirt from the surface being cleaned through the suction nozzle and discharges the dirt through l surface being cleaned is adjusted by a'member 8,.

having a suitable connection for raising or lowering one of the sets of wheels. 4

40 The suction at the nozzle raises the door covering or other material being cleaned against the bottom edges or lips 9 of the suction nozzle.

While held in this position the floor covering is subjected to a beating and sweeping action by a 45 rotatable agitating element or rotor im arranged in the suction nozzle. The body of the agitating element comprises two metal parts ll having cylindrical ilanges l2 projecting from the adjacent ends which extend inside a sleeve i3. The

50 sleeve I3 forms a pulley by means of which the agltating element is rotated by a belt Il passing over the motor shaft i5. The parts Il are held in assembled relation by a tube I6 having nuts Il threaded on the endsthereof which cooperate 55 with inwardly extending anges I8 to clamp theK parts I I together. A suitable sealing washer I9 is placed between the nuts I'l and the anges I8.- In the outer end of each of the parts Il is a cylindrical recess Isa in which' is secured the outer raceway 20 of a ball bearing. The inner 5 raceway 2l of the ball bearing is clamped against a. shoulder 22 on a shaft 23 by means of a screw 24. The screw 2B also secures a guard 25 to the shaft 23. A grease sealing washer 26 ls arranged between Vthe collar 2 2-and the recess ld and 10 anotherv grease sealing washer 2l is arranged between a plug 28 threaded into the end of the casting and a flange 28a on the guard 25. These seals also keep dust from 'the ball bearing. A steel retaining washer 21a holds the washer 21 15 in place.

The agitating element or rotor is mounted -in `the suction nozzle by springclips 29 which grip the periphery of the guard 2b. With this arrangement, the guard 25 and the shaft 23 are held E0 stationary within the suction nozzle and the rotor` is rotatably supported on the shaft. I'he particular construction for supporting the rotor within the suction nozzle is not important and the arrangement for carrying the clips 2Q is therefore 95 a metal backing 33 which re-enforces the portion ss of the felt within the dovetail slot.

As shown in Fig. 2, the rotor ls mounted so that the felt strips when liii their lowest position extend to the plane of the rug contacting surfaces o lips 9 of the suction nozzle. 'During the 40 use of the cleaner, the door covering is drawn against the lips 9 of the suction nzzleand the part of the oor covering between the lips is bowed upwardly. As the rotor rotates, successive portions of the felt strips l2 strike the bowed 46 portion of the floor covering and force it downward in opposition to the air flow through the suctlon'nozzle, thereby subiectingthe door covering to a beating and sweeping action. 'I'he felt strips 12 do not move the bowed portion of the 50 at the suction nozzle and the dust which is is' loosened is drawn more quickly through the nomle than would have been the case if the seal between the floor covering and the lips of the nomle had been brokengfThe greater suction at `the nozzle also causes a greater agitation of the vfloor covering by the felt .strips 32 which eilects more rapid removal of dirt.

In cleaners of this type, it has been cutomary to yuse rotors in the suction nozzle having brushes or smooth metallic projections arranged in the same general way as the felt strips 32. One disadvantage of the brushes is that the bristles creased.v With the felt, the relatively smooth advantages of bristle brushes.

'as similar to the 'smooth metallic beating eiesurface presented by the contacting surface of the felt has no tendency to dig into the nap of the floor covering and the wear on the oor covering is thereby decreased. The felt strips may therefore have an effective stillness greater than bristles without increasing the wear. Also.. due to the homogeneous nature of the felt, the rug contacting surface of the feit does not change in character as the felt wears and any wear can be readily compensated by lowering the rotor in the suction nozzle. This is not as readily done with a rotating brush Since the breaking of the bristles changes the character of the rug contacting surface. Also, the stiffness of the bristles depends materially on the length of the bristles whereas the stiffness of .the felt is relatively unaffected bythe radial length'of the felt. Another advantage of the felt over the bristle brush is the greater uniformity of the felt. It is therefore much easier to secure felt of `uniform. characteristics than to secure brushes .of uniform characteristics. Another advantage of the felt over the -bristle brush is that hair and lint do not become tangled around the felt. One advantage of the felt strips over the smooth me" tallic beating elements is that the fibres of: the felt will pick up lint from vthe floor covering `whereas the metallic beating elements will not pick up lint. When the metallic beating elementsl are used it is, therefore, necessary to pro- -vide a separate brush arranged to have a sweeping action on the oor covering for picking up the lint and this brush is subject to thesame disadvantages present when avbrush isused to effect the beating as well as the .sweeping action.

The action of the felt strips 32 most nearly resembles the action of the rotating brushe'swhich,

have previously been used for effecting a beatving and sweeping action on the floor covering,

The felt can, therefore. be considered as an improvedbrush which overcomes some of the dis- The felt is not ments since it is notA rigid and sinceit does not have a smooth surface contacting the floor covering. In fact. the fibrous nature of the felt which enables the felt-to pick up li/nt. is the source of one of the advantages which is not present in the -metallic heating elements.

In Figmi is shown a modication on the rotor which effects better cleaning of the 'floor covering. In this construction the felt strips 32 spiral in opposite directions `from the center of the rotor towards `each end of the rotor. The angle o f the spiral is not particularly important but is illustrated as an angle of about 120. With this arrangement there is an appreciable interval vduring which the .iloor covering is not subjected to any beating or sweeping action. The reasons for the improved action with this constructionl of the agitating element are not clear but the test results indicate that this arrangement of the beating elements on the surface of the rotor produces improved results.

What we claim as new land desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is:' 1. In a vacuum cleaner for floor coverings or the like, a suction nozzle having lips presented to the iioor covering being cleaned, supporting elements for supporting the nozzle lips above the surface of the Aoor covering, means creating a suction at the nozzle for raising and suspending the floor covering against the nozzle lips, a rotatable agitator in the nozzle, an electric motor for rotating the agitator, and .felt .projections on said agitator arranged to engage the floor covering suspended against the nozzle lips intermittently and having suilic'ient rigidity to move the iioor covering away from the nozzle lips against the force of suction, said projections having orbits of travel extending below the plane occupied by the portion of the floor covering suspended by suction against the nozzle lips but not extending tothe plane in which'said portion of the floor covering rests while. not so suspended.

2. In a vacuum cleaner for floor coverings or the like, an elongated suction nozzle having lips v presented to the floor covering being cleaned,

supporting elements for supporting vthe nozzle lips. above the surface of the iioor covering.'

means creating a suction at the nozzle for raising and suspending the floor covering against the' projecting radially therefrom and spaced around the periphery of said body whereby the projections engage the portion of the floor.covering suspended against the nozzle lips intermittently, said projections having sufficient .rigidity to move the floor covering away from ,the nozzle lips against the force of suction and having orbits of travel extending below the plane occupied by the portion of the floor covering suspended by suction against the nozzle lips but not extending to the plane in which said portion of the iioo covering rests while not so suspended.

vHEilltY T. LANG. L RALPH E. DUNBAR. 

